If you are new to Global Mobility, here are some things you will want to discuss with your upper management so that their intended global mobility plan runs smoothly.

Compliance: Upper management usually just wants to get things done. You, as an HR Manager, will need to be concerned with compliance. Here are a few questions you need to ask:

What are the immigration laws for the relocation country?

What are the work visa restrictions that need to be considered?

What is the length of stay for your employee?

What is the project timeline for the relocation?
TIP: Encourage reasonable timelines even when business needs are pressing.

Time for planning an assignment: Upper management is business driven and often has only a vague idea of what it actually entails to deploy talent in a new location. You cannot get foreign talent in place for longer-term assignments in just a few weeks. It doesn’t work anywhere.

Location: Where will your team stay when they are living abroad? If this is just a short-term affair — a couple of weeks for a training session with a team of ready workers — then a hotel will work. However, if your team members are going to be staying for months or years, they need to have housing that is affordable to them. The housing can be tricky and the salary offered needs to take into consideration the housing costs of your host country.

Education: If your team is bringing their families for longer periods of time, then HR needs to know where their transfer’s children can go to school. If there are no English/German/ French speaking educational facilities in your new country, where will the children be schooled? You also want to be sure that the curriculum is in keeping with your transfers beliefs and worldview. If not, the relocation may not be successful.

Cultural Readiness: Are you choosing people who will be able to assimilate to the new country’s cultural climate easily? Are they flexible, social, and open-minded people who are willing to have patience with the process?

Civics: HR needs to know how foreign nationals are treated and what life is going to be like in the host country. Management, HR, and the team going over there should be concerned with how expats will fit into this host society and how can the team be active members in it. Be able to suggest groups that will help your transfers make friends and contribute to their local community.

Day-to-Day Schedule: Something else that no one ever really considers is the day-to-day things. Where will your team members live versus where they work? How will they get around? Will they be able to drive? What are the customs of those activities? Are they within walking distance of the job site? Where do they get groceries? Where do they go for other services? These are all things that need to be known ahead of time so that proper housing and school decisions can be made. All of this may also influence salary considerations.

Leisure: Finally there is the necessity of leisure. Does this new country offer enough leisure activities to keep your future expats happy? Make sure they know what they are getting into for variety and core free time offerings.

Plan B; what happens if your talent pulls out at a late stage in the recruitment process? What do you do if the transfer is delayed due to immigration problems in the host country? What do you do if you are transferring a family offseason from a school term perspective and have to pay for housing both at home and in the host destination? Will that completely ruin the budget for important future projects? What will you do with the inevitable unforeseen costs? You always want to think through your options.

How do you handle exceptions? Anyone that has had a steering document or policy document to work with is well aware of the exception management policy that also needs to be in place. When do you allow someone to bring pets, cars, sailboats or their grandmother and when do you say no? When is a higher housing budget or a special needs school covered and when isn’t it? Who has the final say in regards to exceptions?

NIM.MERSION was founded with an entrepreneur’s enthusiasm, the creativity of a problem-solver, and with one goal: to alleviate the logistical and compliance conundrums for companies that maintain international offices and workforces.

The goal of providing a Smooth Arrival, an Easy Living, and a Swift Departure for relocating talent was born.

Our ability to hear our clients and work with their needs in a tailor-made fashion took our bold ambitions to new heights. Today, our vision is to be a corporate immigration and relocation service trailblazer that opens the path for our clients to unchartered territories at home and abroad. Our four core values permeate everything we do, down to the last email. They are integral to our operations, they define us as an employer and they determine our service delivery trajectory. They are: Quality, Passion, Innovation and Structure.

More about TIRATIRA is an aligned network of quality mobility service providers. The network provides access to leading mobility experts from around the world that provide local solutions to global challenges. Network members exchange best practices and share this value with the industry through benchmarking exercises.

Varun and Divya Galande moved to Finland in the spring of 2017. Their relocation was unique and intriguing because Divya was pregnant at the time. Despite the additional considerations for the new baby during the move, the family has settled into Finland well and offers a unique perspective to the relocation experience.

“It’s a good life here in general. Initially, I thought that we shouldn’t have moved, but over time, we got used to the climate and the culture. And things are getting better now. It’s quite nice. The support that FRS provided was really helpful. Life here is totally different compared to Dubai: the temperature, the language and everything related to the pregnancy. We didn’t know what to do! FRS was a great help; the moving and everything related was seamless!”

The Galande family has been going through a lot of big changes in a short amount of time but feel that Finland is a very good place to deal with them. “I missed home terribly because nobody I knew was here, and I didn’t know anything about the system for the child health care or city of Helsinki. But the reception was really good. Even if I had a silly question, it was handled well. There was always someone who spoke good English” Divya says.

“I think the work-life balance is supposed to be better here. However, the company is getting a lot of business which is keeping us busy. Of course, it’s good for the company as we’re growing so fast” Varun adds. “Basically, I want to finish my work day quickly and get back to my family. One good thing is that we live very close to my office. And the new subway is quite convenient” he continues.

Language, often considered as a major barrier, hasn’t dampened their spirits either. “Almost everyone here speaks English, so it’s helpful. Unfortunately, nobody in our building speaks English. Nevertheless, they are lovely people; they try to talk to you, but the problem is that I don’t understand Finnish and they don’t understand English! But we still try to communicate with each other, and they are always smiling making the interactions pleasant. Overall the people are very nice. Whatever help we needed we got. Whatever questions we had were addressed. In that way it’s quite nice. I haven’t seen this kind of hospitality in other parts of the world” Varun says.

One of the challenges the Galandes have been facing is social life. With the baby being born and work taking up a lot of their time, they haven’t had the opportunity to make local connections. “The social life has been challenging. We didn’t do much in the beginning because we were preparing for my son to be born, which can be a long process. My mother and father came here when he was born, then my in-laws came as well. So maybe now we can start growing our community back to what we’re used to. Divya wanted to be a part of a community and a nurse helped her by telling about these communities for new mothers”.

Despite this, their positive attitude shines through. “The next phase is to really mingle with the society, but that hasn’t been done yet. We will need to do it soon. We also want to learn the language, so maybe we will start some Finnish classes. I know a little Finnish, but only I can understand myself” Varun laughs.

Cultural differences in childcare are important factors for parents in a new country to understand, and it is therefore good to have a trusted person who can explain some of the peculiarities.

“It’s totally different to raise a child here. In India the child must be kept warm, 30 or so degrees, and here it’s nothing at all like that. They told me ‘It’s fine, you can put him out on the balcony in winter!’ and I was like ‘Are you really sure!?’. Also, in India after the baby has been delivered, a lady comes and gives the baby and the mother massages for a few months; it’s part of a thousand-year-old tradition. Here it’s not at all like that” Divya laughs.

“Maybe that’s why we have a huge population – all the nice related services!” Varun jokes.

“Here we follow the Finnish customs and lifestyle with the baby, because it seems like the right thing to do in Finland. Lots of time outside even when it’s cold and such. If everyone’s babies are fine after going outside, so will ours” Divya says and smiles at the baby, who looks at us with his large eyes, knowing that the adults are talking about him.

Finland has made a big positive impact on the Galandes, enough so that they are planning on staying here for the long term. “The number one thing about Finland is definitely the nature; there’s so much of it regardless of where you live. Second is that it’s so close to other parts of Europe that travelling is easy. The third thing is safety; Finland is really safe. The taxes are different than in Dubai and India, but you also get a lot more for them. Also, the tax expenditures are closer to the people” Varun says. Divya focuses more on the baby. “I would love to raise our child here. I’ve seen many documentaries and witnessed it myself. They take good care of the children and the kids are actually happy. It’s like children are meant to just live and grow up. In many other parts of the world there’s so much pressure on the kids, you have to study and learn this and that.”

Finland Relocation Services is a thoroughbred professional in international mobility. As the Finnish representative of TIRA (The International Relocation Association) and a full member of EuRA (European Relocation Association) we are continuously cooperating with the other members of our networks.

It is through these strategic partnerships that large international corporations recognize FRS as the leading relocation services company in Finland and today we are proud to operate as the local representative of the world’s leading international relocation management companies.

More about TIRATIRA is an aligned network of quality mobility service providers. The network provides access to leading mobility experts from around the world that provide local solutions to global challenges. Network members exchange best practices and share this value with the industry through benchmarking exercises.

Finding an accommodation in France is not easy, especially in Paris and its suburb with an extremely tense real estate.

Employees under a trial period face the issue all the more so if the owner has decided to subscribe to a ”GLI – Garantie de Loyers Impayés” (an insurance on unpaid rent).

In France and especially in Paris, more and more landlords/lessors opt for this insurance. For a monthly fee equal to 3% to 6% of the monthly rent, the GLI protects property owners against the risk of unpaid or overdue rent. Many real estate agencies negotiate group rates and resell this insurance to their own customers, which make them the main decision-maker.

To measure the risk of unpaid/overdue rent, strict criteria are defined and they are not negotiable. Among those, the future tenant should have a net salary of 3 times the amount of the rent (including rental charges) and be under a confirmed permanent contract.

Consequently, any employee under a trial period is not a suitable candidate and files of applicants under a trial period are automatically rejected.

This leads to a high number of inaccessible properties to foreign or newly hired employees and although we screen the properties that will be presented to you, the presence of a GLI is not always advertised or even known by the person putting the property on the market.

When no GLI is subscribed to on a property, the following options can facilitate the situation:

The physical guarantor: To counterbalance the trial period a physical guarantor is the go-to solution. The guarantor must be based in France and have French income corresponding to a minimum of 3 times the rent concerned. Therefore, it is often difficult for a foreign employee to have a physical guarantor.

The bank guarantee: A bank guarantee (equivalent to 3 months up to 1 year worth of rents, depending on the lessors/landlords’ instructions) is another solution. This option is quite expensive because it leads to a high amount of money frozen on a bank account as well as additional banking fees and account maintenance fees to be paid by the tenant.

The Visale guarantee: The Garantie Visale is a free of charge governmental service that offers to be the guarantor when renters have no French physical guarantor. This guarantee is subject to conditional access. Unfortunately, few agencies and landlords agree to use this guarantee so far as it is still quite novel.

The inverted GLI: Very recently, private insurance brokers created the GLI inverse or inverted GLI. The tenant pays between 3 and 6% per month of his rent to a private insurance company, which guarantees the loss of rent for the owner. This option is quite expensive for the tenant and is not well known nor widely accepted by the lessors as it is quite new as well.

Based in Lyon, France’s second largest city in terms of economic vibrancy, Home Conseil Relocation serves the relocation needs of businesses throughout France and especially in Paris, with a team of qualified consultants.

More about TIRATIRA is an aligned network of quality mobility service providers. The network provides access to leading mobility experts from around the world that provide local solutions to global challenges. Network members exchange best practices and share this value with the industry through benchmarking exercises.

On Friday 9 November 2018, the winner of this year’s Vendor Partnership – Relocation Management Company of the year award was announced at a glittering awards ceremony at the InterContinental O2, London.

The FEM EMMAs are the premier awards for the global mobility and International HR industry and on Friday night, following a highly successful two-day Summit, key figures and leaders gathered to celebrate the brightest and the best in the EMEA region.

Claire Tennant-Scull, Global Head of Content and Events Director at FEM said: “The EMMAs are the premier Awards ceremony for Global Mobility in EMEA and across the globe, with the greatest breadth of categories for both corporate professionals and service providers.

This year more than ever too, I think we can claim that our Summit and Awards truly reflect global mobility right across EMEA, as we have seen a huge increase in entries from all parts of Continental Europe, as well as Turkey and the Middle East.

EMMAs entries are rigorously judged by a team of fiercely impartial, highly experienced, senior figures in the industry, who are drawn from a range of disciplines across the EMEA region and who give up their own free time to carry out a very thorough and demanding process. So, these awards carry tremendous kudos. It’s so important to receive recognition among your peers for innovation and hard work and so I think the winners and all those on the shortlist should feel extremely proud.

This year too, we have received entries from individuals and companies who have never taken part in the EMMAs before, so it’s invigorating to have so many new faces at the awards and to see how the industry is developing and bringing on new talent. I think the results were very interesting, and reflective of the change that is occurring across the industry. We were so pleased to receive such good feedback on many of the entries from the judges.”

This year the FEM EMMAs saw entries across a diverse set of categories, and the independent judging panel made up of industry experts remarked on the high standard of the entries.

Judged against a strict set of criteria, the competition for this award was fierce.

The judges commented on Tesco and Icon Relocation’s entry: “An innovative approach to a common problem for major companies. I have seen this model attempted before with very limited success, so I could see this being something other companies look to do in the future.”

FEM is very grateful to the EMMAs sponsors: Alchemy, Directors Languages, ECA, Equus Software, Fragomen Worldwide, FIDI, Icon Relocation, Oakwood and Santa Fe also to our esteemed panel of judges for all their hard work and careful consideration of every entry.

ICON Relocation Ltd, was formed in 2001 and is one of the leading UK based relocation companies with offices in Sussex and Hertfordshire.

The company is a specialist on destination services for both UK and global based clients as well as many of the world’s leading relocation management companies. Services provided include a wide range of home search solutions, schooling, settling in, property management, payment services and move management requirements.

More about TIRATIRA is an aligned network of quality mobility service providers. The network provides access to leading mobility experts from around the world that provide local solutions to global challenges. Network members exchange best practices and share this value with the industry through benchmarking exercises.

We are proud to announce that TIRA President and Relocation Africa Director, Rene Stegmann, has been appointed as a Non-executive Director of the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa.

Relocation Africa Group has been an active member of the British Chamber since 2015. Through Rene’s new appointment, we will be able to have a greater impact on the success of the Chamber’s many initiatives in Southern Africa.

The Chamber is a British Chambers of Commerce affiliated Chamber, part of the Overseas Business Networks initiative, a key program of the British government that intends to stimulate and strengthen international business networks and UK exports.

Through the OBNi, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Department for International Trade are delivering an international UK business network to provide UK companies with a wider range of practical, end to end business support and access to a global network of experienced private sector support.

Members of the British Chamber have access to event and networking opportunities throughout the year, market intelligence and support, as well as the opportunity to engage with government and civil society representatives on matters of policy, to improve upon the SA-UK trade relationship.

For more information about the British Chamber, visit their website by clicking here, and for a list of their current members, click here.

More about Relocation AfricaRelocation Africa is an African Mobility Service Company that assists individuals and corporate clients to settle their relocated families and employees into a new environment as efficiently as possible.

More about TIRATIRA is an aligned network of quality mobility service providers. The network provides access to leading mobility experts from around the world that provide local solutions to global challenges. Network members exchange best practices and share this value with the industry through benchmarking exercises.